Appeals court voids plea deal for man in 2005 Aurora slaying

Sudanese immigrant argued that sentence wasn't long enough in bid to get case back before local court

June 23, 2013|By Clifford Ward, Special to the Tribune

Gareng Deng (Handout)

When Gareng Deng pleaded guilty in 2009 to killing an Aurora counseling center worker, the Sudanese immigrant was sentenced to 35 years in prison, seemingly bringing an end to the yearslong legal saga.

But this month an appeals court vacated Deng's plea — agreeing with his argument that his plea deal was illegal because the prison sentence was too short — and ordered the case sent back to Kane County.

"The cause is remanded to the trial court with directions to allow defendant to withdraw his guilty plea and proceed to trial if he chooses to do so," 2nd District Appellate Judge Kathryn Zenoff wrote in an opinion issued June 14.

And, assuming Deng, 21, does withdraw his plea, it will reopen a case that appeared settled four years ago.

Deng was charged with the 2005 murder of Marilyn Bethell, 47, which authorities alleged took place as part of a break-in at her Aurora home sometime from Oct. 30 to 31. The body of Bethell, who was killed by a gunshot to the head, was found two months later along the Illinois Prairie Path in Kane County. She had last been seen Oct. 30 as she left her job as an assistant at a counseling center.

At the time of Bethell's slaying, Deng was 14 and no stranger to the court system. He had racked up eight felony arrests in the juvenile system, and spent a stint in youth prison, in the years since his mother and stepfather moved the family from war-ravaged Sudan to the Aurora area.

At the May 2009 hearing in which Deng pleaded guilty, prosecutors said they believes Deng broke into Bethell's house, ordered her out at gunpoint and then took her to the path where he shot her.

Deng's successful appeal argued that the 35-year sentence he received was not legal because it did not include an enhanced sentence for murders committed with a firearm. Based on the facts presented during the plea, the appeals court said, Deng should have been sentenced to at least 45 years — a minimum of 20 years for murder with a 25-year add-on for committing the murder with a gun.

"Because defendant was sentenced to less than that amount, and was not admonished of the enhancement, his sentence and the plea agreement that led to it are void," the court wrote.

Deng is not looking for a longer sentence but rather is using the violation of the sentencing guidelines to get his case back before the court. He had sought to back out of the plea deal soon after agreeing to it, DeKalb County Public Defender Thomas McCulloch said last week. McCulloch, who in 2009 was a Kane County assistant public defender, represented Deng in an unsuccessful first attempt to withdraw his guilty plea, which had been negotiated by a private attorney hired by Deng's family.

"Deng thought he could have made a better deal if he'd gotten better advice," McCulloch said.

But that motion, which argued that Deng did not fully understand the terms of the plea, was rejected. That prompted the new appeal.

State's Attorney Joe McMahon said his office will appeal the new ruling to the Illinois Supreme Court. Should that appeal fail, the case will be sent back to Kane County court at essentially a pretrial stage, McMahon said, opening the possibility of a trial or new plea negotiations.

"Anything can happen once you get back to square one," McCulloch said.

Bethell's two sisters were in court frequently during Deng's previous appearances. After he pleaded guilty four years ago, the sisters described Bethell as someone who was just entering a new phase in life. She had recently come into money and was looking forward to traveling.

A new round of court proceedings will undoubtedly revive painful memories for Bethell's family and friends, McMahon acknowledged.

"You don't ever get over it," he said. "When a case gets overturned or sent back like this one, that just rips open a wound."